Layla's POV
"Okay, so we have a poisonous web, three hooks, and a spider-shaped hole thing," Nina said.
"I had hoped this task would be about mermaids. Or baking," Amber commented as we walked down the hallway.
"Hi, Layla," I heard someone say as Amber and Nina led me down the hallways.
"Hey," I greeted pretending nothing was wrong. I suddenly felt Nina whack me in the arm. "Ow what was that for!" I exclaimed.
"She has your necklace!" She whispered. I frowned. She must have found it somewhere. Oh well I could probably just ask Jerome if he could ask for it back later when I got my sight back.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Have you three started a strange girls acting strangely club? Because right now it's going very well," I heard Jerome say as Nina pulled me down the hallway after them.
"Poppy's wearing a necklace around her neck," Amber stated.
"Seems logical, Amber. That is where you wear them. Continue?" Jerome said.
"Well, um, it's actually mine," I told him as I felt Nina nudge me.
"Are you alright, Layla," Jerome asked.
"Yeah of course, why do you ask that?" I replied.
"Because you're talking to the locker?" He asked.
"Oh, my bad!" I said embarrassed as my sister quickly turned me back around. "Anyways, I was just wondering if you could get it back for me," I told him.
"I'll see what I can do," he said.
"Do you believe him?" I heard Amber whisper to Nina.
"Why wouldn't she?" I huffed crossing my arms, though I guess it didn't look as good seeing as my sister had to point me in the right direction again.
Jerome's POV
"Poppy!" I called out as I spotted her.
"I didn't steal it, Jerome, I swear. I found it outside in the grass. Honest!" She said.
"Okay. I believe you. But that belongs to someone else and that someone else is probably going to be very upset that they've lost it. A good person, Poppy! A kind person, wouldn't want that, would they?" I told her.
"I guess," she sighed handing back Layla's necklace.
"That's more like it," I said.
"You really have changed, haven't you, gerbil?" She said. I frowned but I had to admit since Layla had arrived I felt a lot happier.
*****
Layla's POV
"Layla? Are you okay? Can you see?" Eddie asked as I sat at the table helping him and Patricia clean silverware at lunch. It's not like I had anything else to do at the moment.
"What? Yes, of course I can!" I told him as I picked up the next item on the table and started cleaning it.
"And now you're polishing fruit," Eddie told me. "You really can't see, can you?" He prompted again.
"Okay, maybe I'm not exactly 20/20. It's just an eye infection. I've had it before!" I said quickly as I heard Patricia confirming my lie by telling him the same thing happened to me last year.
"Can you see anything? Can you see me?" He asked, his voice sounding a bit closer.
"I can see, like, a massive blurry blob," I said as I squinted and blinked a few times.
"Well, uh, can you see me now?" He asked again sounding even closer.
"Maybe you're a little bit less blurry?" I lied. It was pitch black. I couldn't see anything.
"How about now?" He asked.
"Nope, nothing I said, feeling flushed as I could sense he was really close. The next thing I knew he was kissing me. And boy did it feel amazing.
"Woah, what's that?" He suddenly said as he stopped.
"What's what?" I asked.
"That was nothing, just a reflection from the silverware. Look I'd better take her upstairs!" I heard Patricia say as she suddenly tugged me out of my chair.
"Wait but," I heard Eddie calling out.
"What was that for Patricia! I mean I know I probably shouldn't have done that being with Jerome and all but Eddie said he didn't mind sharing and sure maybe I should talk to Jerome first about liking him too but..." I rambled as Patricia guided me up the stairs.
"No it's not that! It was the glowing again!" She hissed at me. "You know like last year when you kissed Jerome?" I stopped.
"Seriously?" I asked. "Damn it! Is that going to happen every time I try to kiss someone? Because it's not exactly subtle!" I complained.
"I don't know, but I don't think it's a good idea to go around kissing anyone at the moment," she said as she sat me on my bed. I groaned as I lay down. Well that's no fun!
*****
"Jerome won't help us get Layla's necklace back!" Nina complained as they all joined me in our room for the rest of lunch. I opened my mouth to tell them that they were wrong but before I could Fabian asked Alfie if he had any ideas.
"Okay, Jerome's looking for this gem that his dad lost years ago and he found it, then he lost it, and now Vera's stolen it," he told them. I frowned. What was that last bit about losing it?
"I'm sorry. Say pretty much all of that again," Fabian said.
"Okay, Jerome's looking for this gem," Alfie started to repeat.
"Duh, duh, duh, don't worry about it," Fabian said.
"But why would Vera do that?" Amber asked.
"Maybe she confiscated it because she knew he wasn't supposed to have it. But if we get it," Nina said.
"We could make a deal with Jerome. Good plan," Fabian finished for her.
"Guys! Jerome isn't seriously going to not give me back my necklace!" I argued but I could hear them already leaving the room and sighed in frustration as I laid back down on my bed. I was going to need help getting back to school.
Jerome's POV
"I was gonna give it back to Layla anyway," I said as I rolled my eyes and traded Layla's necklace for the gem. But at least I had it back now. I just wished everyone, especially her sister, could start trusting me more. I knew how much Layla cared about her opinion.
*****
Layla's POV
"So you really can't see anything?" Jerome asked as he guided me down the halls after lunch.
"Nope," I replied as I bit my lip, feeling guilty about having kissed Eddie. "Um Jerome, I have something to tell you and you might not like it," I said slowly.
"You can tell me anything," he said.
"Well...um...Eddie kissed me earlier, but Patricia said there was that glowing thing that happened like when you and I did last year and I know I probably should have told you sooner that I maybe might like him a little but I also like you to and I don't want to jeopardize that and I'm really sorry!" I said all in one breath. "Jerome?" I asked after a long moment of silence.
"Well I can't say I'm happy about that, but Eddie did come and talk to me a little while ago and we decided it would be easier if we didn't force you into any ultimatum or anything," Jerome finally said. "But it doesn't mean I have to like the situation," he added. "Look, let's just focus on putting the gem back," he said. "Okay. School awards and prizes," he added as he guided me a few more steps forward. "This is what we're looking for."
"Excited?" I asked.
"More like relieved. Everything's been about this moment," he said.
"Just think, years from now you'll look back on this moment and smile," I cheered.
"Layla," he said.
"Sorry. Just excited, that's all. My lips are sealed."
"Hey. Wow. Our school really does suck at sports," I heard him comment as there was a sound of rustling. "Oh you've got to be kidding me!" I heard him exclaim.
"What?" I asked.
"It's not there! Great! So I finally got the gem, and there's nowhere to stick it!" He complained. I frowned.
*****
"And when I turned around, she was standing right in front of me," Nina said as she filled us all in on her latest run in with the spirit lady as we sat in the drama studio.
"And she just basically said to hurry, right, or else," Alfie asked.
"Yeah, but she was angry. Angry like you wouldn't believe. It was really scary. She said the raven is poised to swoop," Nina told us.
"And you think it means Victor?" I said. That would make sense. Especially with all the black bird stuff from last year.
"Well, Victor didn't have the amulet. Jerome did," Amber pointed out.
"That's what I don't understand," Nina said.
"Did she say anything else?" Asked Fabian.
"She said this ruler may be forgotten, but she will not be ignored," Nina answered.
"Sounds like a spirit with self-esteem issues," I commented.
"So what's the latest with the clue, Fabian?" Nina asked.
"It's pretty obscure. "Upon the foundation on which this house rests "lies the solution to the spider Web test. To find the armorer and scholar's hollow, the silver thread of fate you must follow," Fabian read aloud.
"Armorer and scholar's hollow," Nina repeated.
"The library!" Alfie and I said at the same time.
"How did you figure that one out?" Fabian asked.
"That's where the suit of armor used to be.
Armor, armorer, right?" I stated.
"And I don't know, isn't scholar, like, an old style word for massive nerd? And where do you find that?" Alfie added.
"So I spend a lot of time in the library. This doesn't mean that I'm a massive nerd, okay?" Fabian defended himself.
"Okay. So Fabian, Layla and I will research online. While you two go check out the library.
Okay?" Nina said. Not that I was going to be much help.
*****
"Watch out," Eddie said as he grabbed my arm.
"Uh, I don't need your help!" I snapped at him.
"Okay, you can definitely see now," he said.
"Yep, and you can back off! I'm happy with Jerome and I don't - I don't need you confusing me!" I sniped. Though mostly I was worried about the glowing thing.
"Uh, you kissed back!" He pointed out. "And neither Jerome or I are forcing you to choose so what's your real issue?" He added.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I crossed my arms. "Besides, neither of you seem interested in curses and all that so there's no point. And I was half blind, so it doesn't even count!" I said.
"Well, you know, if you want to take another run at it, I'm here. Anytime," Eddie said as he took a step closer. It was very tempting but I remembered what Patricia said about not kissing anyone at the moment and let out a squeak before dashing off down the hall without another word.
*****
"So any luck?" I asked as Amber and Alfie joined us in our room later.
"We checked the library. No armor, hollows, or silver threads of fate. Just your normal nerd herd of dorks with books," Alfie replied.
"Wait. Wait, I think I found something. This is all about last names and what they mean. So I thought I'd look up "Frobisher," which comes from an old french word. For bisseor, which means,"
"To shine," I chimed in.
"Fascinating. And he says he's not a nerd," Amber said.
"Well which is a last name most commonly given to armorers," Fabian added.
"Okay, now, that is actually pretty interesting," Patricia said.
"What thank you. Look, so what if I am a nerd? So is Layla! There's nothing wrong with that.
It was nerds like me that invented the wheel, email, pretty much everything you couldn't live without," Fabian said as he looked at Amber.
"I feel your pain, my friend. I get hassled 'cause I want to be a ninja," Alfie commented.
"So the riddle's about the Frobisher-Smythes?" Nina asked.
"Well, he was a smart scholar, wasn't he?" Said Alfie said.
"Yeah, and foundations could mean founders.
And who built this place? - The Frobisher-Smythes," I added.
"The picture of them in the dining room. Maybe the solution to the task is behind it," Nina said excitedly.
"Walk, don't run!" Victor said as we dashed towards the stairs.
"Sorry, Victor," we called out.
"It's definitely hollow," Fabian said as I helped Patricia lift the painting off the wall and he knocked against it.
"I wonder what this does," Alfie said as he examined a wire.
"It's a picture wire," Amber said.
"Or the silver thread of fate?" I said with a grin.
"Then let's follow it," Fabian said.
"Do it, Alfie," Nina instructed. He pulled on it and there was a lot of squeaking and metals sounds coming from the ceiling.
And then suddenly with a clang a giant spider fell halfway down into the room.